Eric Smith is a member of Venable’s corporate transactions and finance group. He regularly represents public and private companies in debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures, and acts as outside general counsel to numerous companies. Mr. Smith also regularly works with investment advisers, private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital funds and their investors in connection with fund formation, securities compliance and portfolio investments. He also advises public companies in connection with their periodic SEC reporting obligations and the rules established by securities exchanges. Mr. Smith's industry experience is wide-ranging and includes representation of companies in biotechnology, cyber security, professional sports, financial services, retail, manufacturing, government contracting, entertainment and energy.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Smith worked as in-house counsel for a manufacturing and wholesale food company where he handled issues relating to shareholder rights and corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate planning, contracting, and anti-trust.

Significant Matters

• Issuer's counsel in $137 million follow-on public common stock offering of an NYSE listed corporation
• Representation of numerous privately-owned companies in connection with angel- and venture-backed private placement transactions
• Underwriter's counsel in a $10.7 million follow-on common stock offering by a NASDAQ listed corporation
• Underwriter's counsel in a $40 million preferred stock offering by a NASDAQ listed corporation
• Representation of privately-owned biotechnology company in a $35 million private offering
• Issuer's counsel in $200 million, $300 million and $400 million Senior Notes offerings by an NYSE listed corporation
• Issuer's counsel in $300 million 144A debt offering and subsequent exchange offer by an NYSE listed corporation
• Issuer's counsel in $1.3 billion and $1.2 billion shelf registrations by an NYSE listed corporation

• Representation of sponsors of private equity funds, hedge funds and real estate funds in connection with fund formation and capital raising
• Representation of investors in private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds and venture capital funds in connection with initial investment and secondary market transfers of fund interests
• Representation of sponsors of private equity funds, real estate funds and hedge funds in connection with investment adviser regulatory compliance under federal and state securities laws
• Representation of a real estate trust with investments in excess of $3.5 billion in connection with fund organization and capital raising
• Representation of Investment Advisory firms in connection with federal and state securities law compliance

• Representation of the majority owners of both an NHL franchise and an NBA franchise in the acquisition of the minority owners' interests
• Representation of Circuit City in a $290 million tender offer for all outstanding shares of InterTan, Inc.
• Representation of AMF Bowling Worldwide in a $670 million leveraged buy-out by a private equity fund
• Seller's counsel in a $180 million sale of a minority interest in a private company to an investment bank
• Representation of a NASDAQ listed biotechnology company in a corporate reorganization designed to preserve $380 million in NOLs
• Seller's counsel in a sale to private equity fund of a majority interest of an IT solutions government contractor with an enterprise value of $61.5 million 
• Representation of Circuit City in the split-off of CarMax, Inc. as an NYSE listed corporation with an initial market capitalization in excess of $2 billion
• Seller's counsel in the sale of a government contracting IT firm with an enterprise value of $160 million
• Representation of a publicly-traded petroleum refiner and marketer in a "going-private" transaction valued in excess of $100 million
• Representation of a private equity fund in a $30 million "going-private" acquisition of a publicly-traded resort operator
• Representation of a publicly-traded defense contractor in the establishment of a joint venture with an Israeli company
• Seller's counsel in a $20 million sale of membership interests of a government contracting consultant
• Seller's counsel in a $20 million sale of a subsidiary of a publicly-traded biotechnology company
• Seller's counsel in $15 million and $10 million sales of two divisions of a publicly-traded biotechnology company
• Representation of multiple privately-owned companies in the sale of a company

Activities